My Three Sons (TV Series) (DVD)

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A year after he played the father in Disney's original live-action movie "The Shaggy Dog" and a year before he'd discover flubber as "The Absent-Minded Professor," veteran actor Fred MacMurray joined the ranks of wise-but-longsuffering TV fathers. And that first 1960 season led to 11 more for "My Three Sons," which was distinctive among family sitcoms because of its all-male cast.

Its second season "My Three Sons" finished 11th in the Nielsens--the highest the show would rank over its long run. That year it was the fourth most popular sitcom in America--behind "Hazel," "The Andy Griffith Show," and "The Danny Thomas Show." Ironically, though, the second season had more episodes than the first that I'd have to rank below a 7 (out of 10), and not nearly as many stellar ones. But comedy or originality didn't seem to be as important to the viewing audience as the familiar situations, and America loved the Douglas family. Watching them was like watching a Norman Rockwell tableau in action. It was like watching the Nelsons--pure Americana, pure American family--and so it's probably no coincidence that the longest running live-action sitcom was "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," while right behind them with 380 episodes was "My Three Sons."

Season Two Vol. 1 features the first 18 episodes, more than half of which I'd have to rank between a 6 and 7. But while they're familiar and not all that brilliantly written, each episode oozes with charm and early sixties' naiveté. It was a simpler time, and maybe that's why, even though the episodes are in black and white, kids today still respond to the show. They like seeing "how it was back then"--the dynamic between parents and children, and the ways in which children related to teachers and each other.

For 1961 audiences, "My Three Sons" had to feel like a comfortable pair of shoes. They already knew MacMurray from those two Disney live-action hits, and the Douglas's dog, Tramp, was a big old shaggy dog. And speaking of "The Shaggy Dog," one of the Douglas boys was none other than Disney regular Tim Considine, who appeared on "The Shaggy Dog" with MacMurray. And the man who played widower Steve Douglas's father-in-law and chief cook and bottle-washer for this brood was none other than William Frawley, who delighted audiences as Fred Mertz in "I Love Lucy." Rounding out the cast was a former Mousketeer (Don Grady) and a veteran of "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" (Stanley Livingston).

There's nothing hammy about the performances, and nothing is played too silly. It's all about trying to find the humor in everyday family life in the early '60s, when the nation was enjoying the optimism of the Camelot years and the average family was still living with '50s values. Curiously, the show still holds up as family viewing, despite the black and white and the relatively tame, domestic plots.

Here's the liner-note description of the 18 episodes contained on three single-sided discs and housed in a standard-size keep case with a plastic "page" to hold non-overlapping discs:

1) "Birds and Bees." When tramp becomes the father of six puppies, Steve decides it's time to tell Chip (Livingston) the facts of life.

2) "Instant Hate." The Douglas family's good neighbor policy comes under attack when Steve, Bub, and the boys tangle with the new family across the street. [One of the funniest episodes.]

3) "The Crush." When Mike (Considine) brings his new girlfriend home to meet the family, he misunderstands her attraction to Steve.